The San Francisco Unified School District is spotlighting James Lick Middle School, profiling the school’s rising standardized test scores and narrowing achievement gap for Latino students, in a recent press release.

Lick is nestled among manicured gardens, aromatic coffee houses, and luxurious boutiques in the heart of Noe Valley. But its students hail from all corners of San Francisco, and 65 percent of the school’s nearly 600 students are Latino, says Principal Bita Nazarian.

“Most of our kids are from the Mission,” said Nazarian. “It’s widely accepted that is an equity issue at our school when Latino students are not performing at the same level as their white counterparts.”

To close the achievement gap, Lick is teaching students “academic language” – abstract words and phrases that are common in tests but uncommon in every day English. The school is also reaching out to families and emphasizing teacher collaboration. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE